Princeton University Students Switching?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

A Daily Princetonian article (http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2006/10/12/arts/16162.shtml) reports that the number of Princeton University students buying Macs has increased substantially over the past 3 years.

According to their Office of Information Technology, 45% of computers purchased this year were Macs. While this statistic only represents on-campus sales, it does represent a significant trend of the past 3 years. In 2003, only 15% of computers sold were Macs, with steady increases to 25% and 38% in 2004 and 2005.

Years ago, Apple had traditionally been well represented in higher education, but this market-share had suffered alongside the general consumer marketshare over the years. Businessweek had predicted (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/11/20031104235416.shtml) in 2003 that Apple's higher education sales were seeing a significant turnaround, and Apple's most recent Quarterly results (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2006/07/20060719164004.shtml) showed a 31% increase year-over-year for Higher Education sales.

[MattyMac]

Nice...my Uncle is a head professor of Chemistry at Princeton and he said that he used to use Macs all of the time there back in the day, but no one uses them anymore. I'll be sure to let him hear these statistics:)

[arn]

Obviously, this only represents one small population... but it's still an impressive gain over these past few years.

arn

[cherrypop]

Apple's decision to develop Boot Camp, and to support openly Parallels will prove to be brilliant in converting Win users, where ad campaigns in the past simply failed. Not just at Princeton, but everywhere.

BT and P provide a Win user with the illusion that they're not giving anything up. They can always have the security blanket of Windows if they need it, right on their Mac, while Apple finally gets the opportunity to expose Win users to the Mac OS in a meaningful way.

Everyone wins, but Apple wins bigger.




http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

A Daily Princetonian article (http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2006/10/12/arts/16162.shtml) reports that the number of Princeton University students buying Macs has increased substantially over the past 3 years.

.

[spicyapple]

My sister switched to Mac. She bought herself a MacBook. :) In our household, this would be Page 1 News. Unfortunately, she's running Parallels so it's my job to slowly wean her off Windows.

[amoda]

It seems to me that this trend can be seen in most universities. A friend of mine works at the campus computer store, which is an offical apple reseller, and he sees this at work. He says that out of the stores notebook sales approx. 1/5 to 1/4 are macs.

On another note i'm in my first year now and i, as well as some of my friends, bought laptops this year. A good 10 out of 15 or so are macs, 3 mbps and the rest mbs.

[amols]

This is only the beginning. Wait for second quarter 2007 with all UB apps, iTV, True video iPod and Leopard (and maybe Merom Macbooks :D )

[Adurbe]

these students will then leave uni and when in employment feel more comfortable on macs, maybe influencing purchasing decisions

[nevir]

It's the same here at the University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign, particularly in the computer science department. Powerbooks, MacBooks and MBP's everywhere :) - and while I heard a lot of Mac hate, even from myself, a few years ago - that's almost completely evaporated.

We also just got a second (well a real) Apple Store/resaler - and for only being a 10x10' store, I rarley see less than 4-5 people in there browsing.

[narco]

The only problem with some switchers is that they're so used to doing things the complicated way. I've had most of my friends go out and buy iTunes, some to switch to the Mac, but it seems like they're not used to the fact that their OS works for them rather than the other way around.

For instance, one friend organized his entire iTunes library in playlist. For each artist, each album -- he wanted one click access to every album. I then told him about the "Browse" feature and he was pretty pissed. It also seems like people aren't used to the fact that iTunes organizes your music files for you -- they want to go into each folder and name things themselves. SO DIFFICULT.

Fishes,
narco.

[kansast]

The only problem with some switchers is that they're so used to doing things the complicated way. I've had most of my friends go out and buy iTunes, some to switch to the Mac, but it seems like they're not used to the fact that their OS works for them rather than the other way around.

For instance, one friend organized his entire iTunes library in playlist. For each artist, each album -- he wanted one click access to every album. I then told him about the "Browse" feature and he was pretty pissed. It also seems like people aren't used to the fact that iTunes organizes your music files for you -- they want to go into each folder and name things themselves. SO DIFFICULT.

Fishes,
narco.

My boss is this way.. he was a mac user WAY BACK in the "Quadra" series day and before that, but he switched to windoze back then.. And he too is used to doing things the 'complicated way' change is hard for some people, and even when I laugh at him for doing things that seem so complicated to a 'mac' way. He continues to think 'this is how it's supposed to be'. So now I just shake my head and don't say anything :-)

Kansast

[coumerelli]

My boss is this way.. he was a mac user WAY BACK in the "Quadra" series day and before that, but he switched to windoze back then.. And he too is used to doing things the 'complicated way' change is hard for some people, and even when I laugh at him for doing things that seem so complicated to a 'mac' way. He continues to think 'this is how it's supposed to be'. So now I just shake my head and don't say anything :-)

Kansast


Wow. were we separated at birth? That sounds like ME talking! :p :rolleyes:

[drumpat01]

This effect can also be seen at my college, the University of North Texas (fourth largest college in TX). When I first got here in 2001 there weren't any macs anywhere besides a few computer labs that were still running OS 9 iMacs. Now you can see MB and MBP all over the place. Most computer labs now have a good number of G4 PowerMacs and the music building lab has about 10-15 G5 iMacs.

And on a more personal note, my roommate got his first mac about 3 days ago, a MB, and my mom is about to get her first mac Its either going to be a iMac or Mac Mini, depends on how much money I'm willing to pay for it. Its her wedding present from me.

[spicyapple]

It also seems like people aren't used to the fact that iTunes organizes your music files for you -- they want to go into each folder and name things themselves. SO DIFFICULT.
Say what!? PC users enjoy self-flagellation. :D

[mdntcallr]

lets hope that this is a good sign of the shift happening soon at universities everywhere.

of course i bet that there is a great apple program at the school, ie store on campus that has a very good person running it. no better pricing prob than regular student pricing.

but the better program they have... the more macs they sell

[hechacker1]

I work for UCSD's Resnet department and I have also noticed a sharp incline of mac users this year. A little under half the support calls/appointments I get now are for macs (which says something about their ability to "just work").

Personally, if I were to buy another computer atm, it would also probably be a mac. The decision is quite simple now that mac's are reasonably priced and can run windows just the same.

[SMM]

My extended family numbers 11 households and 6 students. Over the past three years, only one new purchase was not a Mac. None of them run anything except OSX. Some purchased Office:Mac, and that is because they wanted Excel.

If the new version of iWork contains a good spreadsheet, it will be a big deal for the business community and their sales. Most people only use the basic functions of spreadsheets and formatting of a word processor. An all Apple solution brings their cost lower than a comparable PC.

[stephenmckeague]

LOL @ Princeton - A mere 10th in world university rankings. Far from the impressive 9th of Imperial College :D

[Some_Big_Spoon]

I think this is the #1 reason people don't switch; They think that the difficulties of windows are how computing is supposed to be, namely, complicated, expensive, and time consuming.

I have to fight tooth and nail at my company to use a mac because, and I quote my "IT Professional"; "Macs are too expensive, they get too many viruses, and they're too hard to network and support". Now, granted, this woman isn't bright and was "promoted" to network admin from some receptionist job at some point, but this is how most companies think.

When she sits down at my mac to "fix it" (break something), she spends minutes looking for the complicated way of doing something instead of checking a box or pushing a button. The Principals of my company are the same. I'll do presentations in Keynote or make marketing movies or DVD's that the rest of the company loves, but since it's not supported on windows, the initiatives go nowhere. It's a mixture of ignorance and IT weasels looking to hold on to their jobs. If we had macs at work, she'd be out of a job and she knows it.

I hope Princeton's policies are platform agnostic, otherwise all the new mac users could find themselves in a difficult situation.

The only problem with some switchers is that they're so used to doing things the complicated way. I've had most of my friends go out and buy iTunes, some to switch to the Mac, but it seems like they're not used to the fact that their OS works for them rather than the other way around.

For instance, one friend organized his entire iTunes library in playlist. For each artist, each album -- he wanted one click access to every album. I then told him about the "Browse" feature and he was pretty pissed. It also seems like people aren't used to the fact that iTunes organizes your music files for you -- they want to go into each folder and name things themselves. SO DIFFICULT.

Fishes,
narco.

[MrCrowbar]

I happen to be in Princeton right now an I can confirm that there are a lot of young people with apple laptops there. When you go to starbucks, you see quite a lot of people with laptops (starbucks has wifi), and 90% of them are Macbook Pros, Macbooks, or 12" Powerbooks. I felt so at home when I pulled out my Macbook. And that one guy with his old dell was so ashamed :p

One reason could be that there's only one computer store in this little town, and this store only sells Macs and iPods.

[Bye Bye Baby]

LOL @ Princeton - A mere 10th in world university rankings. Far from the impressive 9th of Imperial College :D




What bugs me is that I am now at Oxford, which by the way is number two or three in the world, that Macs are under represented. In fact there is no store, virtual or otherwise in the whole of Oxford!!!!!:confused: How smart is that????:eek:

How about a nice big juicy shop on High Street!!!!! Or even next to the Bodleian!!!

Bring it on apple :cool:

[krykert]

Princetonians, in my experience, are fratboys, prudes, and associated squares--by far the worst of the Ivies. Not a creative bone in the entire student body. They wouldn't know Macintosh if it bit them in their collective beige butt.

So tell me, how on earth is this good news? Unimaginative folk like these don't belong on our platform. Much better to celebrate the longstanding prevalence of Macs on progressive, independent-minded, and artistic campuses such as Brown and Columbia. But Princeton? Give me a break.

[goodmacman]

Does anyone remember that back in the day's of mac classics or maybe it was the performa lineup. When I was about 10 years old. There was a little program where you went diving and it was designed to teach you how the mac interface worked. With Drag and Drop etc.

Now I too have experienced windows friends getting very stressed that the mac is rubbish because it doesn't work. You walk over. Show them how it works and due to their pride they then won't admit that it is great because they feel stupid for not trying your solution.

What if there was a nice program that just helped them into the right mode of thinking. A sort of quick intro for ex windows users. We could call it iRehab?

[rwalk]

Princetonians, in my experience, are fratboys, prudes, and associated squares--by far the worst of the Ivies. Not a creative bone in the entire student body. They wouldn't know Macintosh if it bit them in their collective beige butt.

So tell me, how on earth is this good news? Unimaginative folk like these don't belong on our platform. Much better to celebrate the longstanding prevalence of Macs on progressive, independent-minded, and artistic campuses such as Brown and Columbia. But Princeton? Give me a break.
Give me a break. I'm sure your "experience" is vast, and you know every person at Princeton. You are the kind of person who should not be on the Mac platform.

[krykert]

Give me a break. I'm sure your "experience" is vast, and you know every person at Princeton.
I happen to have the displeasure of knowing a good many more than I'd like to, and I'm telling you there's no way that a full 45% of that student body are blue-blooded Mac users. Princetonians are a people lacking utterly in subtlety and charm, and even poorer in aesthetic intuition. They're the people who pose with upturned collars! I can't stress strongly enough: These people aren't Mac users. They're switcheurs.

[Cameront9]

Having spent 5 weeks at Christ Church for a study abroad program, I would have loved an Apple store in Oxford. But as it was, a trip into London took about 40 minutes. You could get to the Apple stores there in less than an hour.

Whereas here in Texas, even though Dallas is only a little further from where I live than Oxford is from London, it takes at least 2 and half hours to drive there--more with traffic....God I wish we had a train system like yours....

In any case, in the last three years, 5 of my friends have gotten Macs....So it is spreading...


Hey I studied at Princeton and it was a pretty impressive place. However, when i was there macintosh was a foreign word. That was only a few years ago.

What bugs me is that I am now at Oxford, which by the way is number two or three in the world, that Macs are under represented. In fact there is no store, virtual or otherwise in the whole of Oxford!!!!!:confused: How smart is that????:eek:

How about a nice big juicy shop on High Street!!!!! Or even next to the Bodleian!!!

Bring it on apple :cool:

[parenthesis]

At CU-Boulder we got network stats from the first couple weeks of school. Mac registrations are continually going up (though I don't remember the exact numbers right now) in the residence halls (so, first-year students)

[Steven1621]

I can also say that the incoming class at my college was 60+% mac. Granted, tutition here is like $43,000 and the student body is about 1600, so this is a not a broad sampling of the population. Still a good sign, though.

[Eraserhead]

Hey I studied at Princeton and it was a pretty impressive place. However, when i was there macintosh was a foreign word. That was only a few years ago.

What bugs me is that I am now at Oxford, which by the way is number two or three in the world, that Macs are under represented. In fact there is no store, virtual or otherwise in the whole of Oxford!!!!!:confused: How smart is that????:eek:

How about a nice big juicy shop on High Street!!!!! Or even next to the Bodleian!!!

Bring it on apple :cool:

There is a virtual store: apple.procureweb.ac.uk

tbh Oxford (when I was at the uni in the summer) has quite a few Mac users, probably 10% of the researchers were Mac-users, at least compared to Warwick Uni, but they aren't terribly Mac-friendly.

Oxford blatantly needs an Apple Store, they'd get lots more Mac users if their was one.

[VAmin]

Nice...my Uncle is a head professor of Chemistry at Princeton and he said that he used to use Macs all of the time there back in the day, but no one uses them anymore. I'll be sure to let him hear these statistics:)

Which professor? I'm majoring in Chem here.

[OdduWon]

the whole reason i switched back was because i wanted to go to calpoy san luis obispo and geard they were mac based. as an archutecture student i used autocad and revit so had to buy a dell. it 1 hd burned out ran on 1 and it crashed in a year. now that i know dell is crap. i got a twin 2.7 powermac G5. love it :D . seem that almost every one at poly have a mac. they sell them in the store at student discount and they have good configurations.

[thedude110]

LOL @ Princeton - A mere 10th in world university rankings. Far from the impressive 9th of Imperial College :D

Muh? (http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/2006/ARWU2006_Top100.htm)


Princetonians, in my experience, are fratboys, prudes, and associated squares--by far the worst of the Ivies.

:D

because of

link (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=princeton)

Ignore the first definition ... they get better after that ...

[budugu]

The general problem with this estimation is that the mac prices are the cheapest at the University computer stores while highest for PCs. The same Dell notebook that costs less than 700$ w/ coupons etc has a price of 1200!! in the Univ IT store. That has been a trend over the last few years. Hence the number of people buying PCs at the univ stores is steadily decreasing as people are now much more aware of the general prices. Ofcourse there is also a genuine rise in the mac sales (i contributed by gettin a black mac book).

[Doctor Q]

Some departments at some universities actually recommend Macs over PCs. But, like Mac purchases in general, that's a minority.

[Dagless]

I don't understand the importance of this. A university in a country I don't live in has started to buy more Macs? Colour me unimpressed.

[jholzner]

It's the same here at the University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign, particularly in the computer science department. Powerbooks, MacBooks and MBP's everywhere :) - and while I heard a lot of Mac hate, even from myself, a few years ago - that's almost completely evaporated.

We also just got a second (well a real) Apple Store/resaler - and for only being a 10x10' store, I rarley see less than 4-5 people in there browsing.

Hey, I've been to the Illini Apple Center. Nice place but a bit small. I graduated a few years ago but still have my student ID. I show them and I get the discount. Actually, the first time I purchased something there I brought a friend 'cause he's still a student but they didn't even ask for ID.

[Bye Bye Baby]

I happen to have the displeasure of knowing a good many more than I'd like to, and I'm telling you there's no way that a full 45% of that student body are blue-blooded Mac users. Princetonians are a people lacking utterly in subtlety and charm, and even poorer in aesthetic intuition. They're the people who pose with upturned collars! I can't stress strongly enough: These people aren't Mac users. They're switcheurs.


So you didn't get in???:p

[Bye Bye Baby]

But seriously, with all the time we spend studying, who can afford to go into the city and buy a computer???? :(

Sorry, I'll stop BSing. But at least it's good for a laugh!!!:D


Having spent 5 weeks at Christ Church for a study abroad program, I would have loved an Apple store in Oxford. But as it was, a trip into London took about 40 minutes. You could get to the Apple stores there in less than an hour.

Whereas here in Texas, even though Dallas is only a little further from where I live than Oxford is from London, it takes at least 2 and half hours to drive there--more with traffic....God I wish we had a train system like yours....

In any case, in the last three years, 5 of my friends have gotten Macs....So it is spreading...

[bluebomberman]

I happen to have the displeasure of knowing a good many more than I'd like to, and I'm telling you there's no way that a full 45% of that student body are blue-blooded Mac users. Princetonians are a people lacking utterly in subtlety and charm, and even poorer in aesthetic intuition. They're the people who pose with upturned collars! I can't stress strongly enough: These people aren't Mac users. They're switcheurs.

Has it occured to you that your smug elitism and gross stereotyping is exactly why lots of people hate Ivy Leaguers in the first place?

You should at least recognize that time change. Some Ivy League schools were aggressively phasing out Macs less than a decade ago, and as recent as five years ago. That's enough time for the undergrad population to turn over several times.

[krykert]

Has it occured to you that your smug elitism and gross stereotyping is exactly why lots of people hate Ivy Leaguers in the first place?

You should at least recognize that time change. Some Ivy League schools were aggressively phasing out Macs less than a decade ago, and as recent as five years ago.
My point exactly. Square institutions like Princeton and Yale are well known for, well, being square. It's no surprise a distinct minority of students there are Mac users (even if some of the rest are switcheurs). Take a walk around an Ivy League school with a student population in command of a more comprehensive understanding of aesthetics--Harvard, Brown, or especially Columbia with its boho-beat appeal--and you can't help but notice the difference. Students at these schools, unlike those at Princeton, are natural-born Mac users.

That, in short, is why it's wrong to paint all Ivy Leaguers with the same broad brush. You're not a bigot, are you?

[technicolor]

Well my school is 100% Mac, and I happen to go to one of the top art colleges in the country. We also get better discounts than the normal edu store and have our own Apple rep.

Beat that Princeton!:p

But in all reality, this is great news. I also dont see any reason to distinguish between a born mac user and a "switcheur". That is just silly.

[bluebomberman]

That, in short, is why it's wrong to paint all Ivy Leaguers with the same broad brush.

So it's okay to generalize about Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Brown, and Columbia, but not the whole Ivy League? Please. Have you considered *not* generalizing, period?

And for the record, I switched two years ago. So I guess I'm a switcheur. Sorry if I don't meet your standards of excellence.:rolleyes: I'll just go on using my iMac, not because I enjoy it, but because I wanna hook up with a Princeton sugar mommy. :rolleyes:

[STLSigns]

Any news about more Macs being sold is good news to me. Over the summer I moved my DSL and Phone # to a new location, it took a week for them to make the switch so I had a Dial-Up # for that week. The person I spoke with when getting that # wanted to know what kind of computer I was using and when I said Mac OSX he said "...more of you guys out there than I thought".
He's even noticed more people calling with Macs. Cool.

[rwalk]

So it's okay to generalize about Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Brown, and Columbia, but not the whole Ivy League? Please. Have you considered *not* generalizing, period?
Exactly. Took the words out of my mouth... erm, fingers.

[Eraserhead]

I don't understand the importance of this. A university in a country I don't live in has started to buy more Macs? Colour me unimpressed.

But nearly 50% of the students use Mac's in a few years time it could be 50% of students at UK universities, which is a huge deal, after that it could be 50% of computers :eek:, especially given the rate Apple's improving their OS.

[xPismo]

But nearly 50% of the students use Mac's in a few years time it could be 50% of students at UK universities, which is a huge deal, after that it could be 50% of computers :eek:, especially given the rate Apple's improving their OS.


Good to see, go Apple. I foresee a change in the post production world with all the Final Cut Pro users in college right now... no doubt this same effect can happen in other industries when students start using Apple products.

End of line.

[pallas42]

My point exactly. Square institutions like Princeton and Yale are well known for, well, being square. It's no surprise a distinct minority of students there are Mac users (even if some of the rest are switcheurs). Take a walk around an Ivy League school with a student population in command of a more comprehensive understanding of aesthetics--Harvard, Brown, or especially Columbia with its boho-beat appeal--and you can't help but notice the difference. Students at these schools, unlike those at Princeton, are natural-born Mac users.

That, in short, is why it's wrong to paint all Ivy Leaguers with the same broad brush. You're not a bigot, are you?
Ahem. Anyone who says that Yale is "square" and Harvard is not has obviously never experienced the two colleges. And yes, I can say this because I am a Yale student who chose Yale over Harvard. Additionally, I really don't know what a "more comprehensive understanding of aesthetics" is, let alone what it has to do with mac usage. And, for the record, fully 35% of people here at Yale use Macs, and the large majority of freshmen I know who bought a new laptop got an MB or an MB pro. Also, I would argue that trying to paint Yale and Princeton with the same brush is also incorrect, and it is even more incorrect to paint Harvard and Columbia with the same brush. It is pointless to generalize ANY two colleges together, especially schools with such varying social, educational, and cultural philosophies.

EDIT: Oh, but don't take my word for any of this. I switched to Mac from Linux, so I guess I'm not a real Mac user.

[Eric5h5]

I don't understand the importance of this. A university in a country I don't live in has started to buy more Macs? Colour me unimpressed.

I'm unimpressed that you're unimpressed. There's more to the world than your own backyard, and anyway, did you read the whole thing? Does the word "trend" mean anything? :)

--Eric

[kansaigaijin]

students who are buying PCs won't buy them at the Campus stores, so nobody has any idea what the real percentages are.

Students who buy Macs will buy them at campus stores because it is the convenient place to get the student discount.

[arn]

students who are buying PCs won't buy them at the Campus stores, so nobody has any idea what the real percentages are.

Students who buy Macs will buy them at campus stores because it is the convenient place to get the student discount.

While that may be true, we're comparing apples to apples when it comes to year-over-year sales. This is the trend at the same place:

2003: 15% mac sales
2004: 25%
2005: 38%
2006: 45%

It's possible there are outside factors regarding PC sales that may have changed over the 4 years, but it's not mentioned.

arn

[generik]

Ahem. Anyone who says that Yale is "square" and Harvard is not has obviously never experienced the two colleges. And yes, I can say this because I am a Yale student who chose Yale over Harvard. Additionally, I really don't know what a "more comprehensive understanding of aesthetics" is, let alone what it has to do with mac usage. And, for the record, fully 35% of people here at Yale use Macs, and the large majority of freshmen I know who bought a new laptop got an MB or an MB pro. Also, I would argue that trying to paint Yale and Princeton with the same brush is also incorrect, and it is even more incorrect to paint Harvard and Columbia with the same brush. It is pointless to generalize ANY two colleges together, especially schools with such varying social, educational, and cultural philosophies.

EDIT: Oh, but don't take my word for any of this. I switched to Mac from Linux, so I guess I'm not a real Mac user.

Bravo.

Exactly, it is just a brand of computer... a tool if you will. Not a bloody religion which changes your whole mindset and world view to the point that you are prepared to strap bombs to your chest to "defend" it.

Switcheur... people who use this world sound more like poseurs to me if they honestly think the few extra grand they spent in their lifetimes on macs make them superior in any sense. Stop hiding behind Steve's skirt and go get a real peen enlargement you loser :rolleyes:

[kansaigaijin]

While that may be true, we're comparing apples to apples when it comes to year-over-year sales. This is the trend at the same place:

2003: 15% mac sales
2004: 25%
2005: 38%
2006: 45%

It's possible there are outside factors regarding PC sales that may have changed over the 4 years, but it's not mentioned.

arn


but do they quote PC sales figures going down? did those mac buying students just stop buying off campus?

there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. these encouraging are pretty much meaningless without the big picture or some context.

[cwoloszynski]

I work at a small embedded software development house and I am moving my entire team to Macs (MBP). We do mostly Linux-based development and we are using Parallels on the MBPs to run Suse Linux and then using X11 on the Mac to have a single unified desktop.

I hope in a couple of years to have the whole company moved over. You should see the interest from the other teams in how we are using Macs (and if they can join my team!).

I could not have done this if it was not for Apple's Bootcamp and Parallels and the Intel switch.

The world is changing!

[darwen]

Of course Princeton kids are buying apples... Princeton students are smart!

[Grimace]

I happen to have the displeasure of knowing a good many more than I'd like to, and I'm telling you there's no way that a full 45% of that student body are blue-blooded Mac users. Princetonians are a people lacking utterly in subtlety and charm, and even poorer in aesthetic intuition. They're the people who pose with upturned collars! I can't stress strongly enough: These people aren't Mac users. They're switcheurs.

And...how old are you? You are making gross generalizations about an entire student body -- one that is completely recycled in four years. Your comments could apply to most Research I universities, I'm not sure why you're so uptight about what many of us might call "progress".

[generik]

Of course Princeton kids are buying apples... Princeton students are smart!

What about Oxford kids? :p

There is a line between those who are smart, and those who think they are smart. The truly smart ones in Oxford will (as mentioned previously) see through all that hype Apple is and keep typing their theses (in LaTeX no less)on some old school UNIX system. The dumb ones like everyone else just goes on with the flow and uses Windows, because everyone uses Windows. The wannabe smarts think they are so smart and decided to try something different, so they looked around and figured that Macs are the perfect choice, nevermind its own can of worms, and meanwhile they are still typing their term papers and reports on... Microsoft Word.

[twoodcc]

well i know i see tons of macs on campus here at Georgia State University, so i'm not surprized

[jellomizer]

While it shows that Princeton is getting more macs is partially good news. It shows that Macs are back in fashion, unlike when I was in college where mac were considered for only people who didn't want to learn how to use a computer, and the person with the Dell or Alienware was considered hip. But this is still a bad side because it still reconfirms the current myth "While Macs are in general better then PCs, only rich people can afford for the luxury." Princeton has a reputation of its students full of rich kids. So they are getting MacBooks with their Fancy Mercedes. So this news shows that Macs are now trendy but it also make them seem out of reach of the common man. (While my non-sciencetific price research has shown that per-feature Macs are better price) Compared to other prebuilt systems.

[Willis]

Lincoln College... Its a Dell Superstore.... And guess what the only computers you can buy are from there... you guessed it...

Not an Apple in sight.

[stainlessliquid]

I wonder if the only reason the % has gone up is because of a higher number of people shopping at places like Dell.com. Apple has yet to offer a real reason to shop online rather than shop at a store, so while PC buyers flock to online purchases Apple buyers stick with regular stores since theres no point to shop at apple.com unless theyre out of stock.

Although those kids probably arent very conerned about finding the best price online.

[technicolor]

I wonder if the only reason the % has gone up is because of a higher number of people shopping at places like Dell.com. Apple has yet to offer a real reason to shop online rather than shop at a store, so while PC buyers flock to online purchases Apple buyers stick with regular stores since theres no point to shop at apple.com unless theyre out of stock.
This makes not one lick of sense, both structurally and in meaning.

[Lollypop]

Im glad to see that some uni's are seeing more mac users, over here most people still cant afford a laptop, so they are forced to use the open computer labs.. that feature.. you guessed it.. Dells. I was the only one in the entire computer science department that had a mac.. :eek: But im hoping the trend to move away from a singular platform eventuall changes that.

[JonD]

I was an Apple Campus Rep at Princeton from 2004-2006 (now graduated). Apple has an amazing presence on campus, and I'm glad I could be a part of it :)

[JonD]

Princetonians, in my experience, are fratboys, prudes, and associated squares--by far the worst of the Ivies. Not a creative bone in the entire student body. They wouldn't know Macintosh if it bit them in their collective beige butt.

So tell me, how on earth is this good news? Unimaginative folk like these don't belong on our platform. Much better to celebrate the longstanding prevalence of Macs on progressive, independent-minded, and artistic campuses such as Brown and Columbia. But Princeton? Give me a break.

Ouch, somebody is jealous. Spend less time at TI and Cottage next time you visit, please.

[MacBram]

...What bugs me is that I am now at Oxford, which by the way is number two or three in the world, that Macs are under represented. In fact there is no store, virtual or otherwise in the whole of Oxford!!!!!...Unfortunately there is no Apple Store, though there are three Starbucks. But if you need help (or to know you are not the only macuser in Oxford) there is a pretty good, hole-in-the-wall Apple education dealer/reseller in Headington. Address: 19 Old High Street. Absolute Computers is just off the high street (London Road) towards old Headington: go back beside Summerfields supermarket and it is above the audio shop - staircase is in the rear by the dumpsters in the Summerfield car park. Proprietor's name is Mike. They set our charity up with our first video editing system in 1998. There is also an Oxford MacUser group that meets once in awhile. They have a Yahoo Group, oxmacug@yahoogroups.com.

[bopbop]

per mr krykert
I happen to have the displeasure of knowing a good many more than I'd like to, and I'm telling you there's no way that a full 45% of that student body are blue-blooded Mac users. Princetonians are a people lacking utterly in subtlety and charm, and even poorer in aesthetic intuition. They're the people who pose with upturned collars! I can't stress strongly enough: These people aren't Mac users. They're switcheurs.


DO NOT FEED TROLLS !!!!

Nonetheless I have to respond. When I was at Princeton noone used Macs. I have only been using them since 1996, a veritable poseur.

I did own an Apple ][ plus in 1981 (taught myself Pascal after I bought the language card for $1k), IIe, IIgs and Pismo Powerbook as well as a 7600 132 and my now aging MMD dual 1 ghz and 15inch 1.33PB. Enuff bragging about my bloodlines?
My first computer was a time shared GE 6200 in 1968.

Oh and I graduated from Princeton in 1973. the workhorse there then was an IBM 360/91 and personal computing was a TTY.


www.housleyphoto.com

[Bye Bye Baby]

Hey thanks for that. even though I live near Christ Church. It soulnds tricky- but I'll get there!!! Do they do tax exempt for non-Brits. Just in case you know off the top of your head!!!


Thanks


Unfortunately there is no Apple Store, though there are three Starbucks. But if you need help (or to know you are not the only macuser in Oxford) there is a pretty good, hole-in-the-wall Apple education dealer/reseller in Headington. Address: 19 Old High Street. Absolute Computers is just off the high street (London Road) towards old Headington: go back beside Summerfields supermarket and it is above the audio shop - staircase is in the rear by the dumpsters in the Summerfield car park. Proprietor's name is Mike. They set our charity up with our first video editing system in 1998. There is also an Oxford MacUser group that meets once in awhile. They have a Yahoo Group, oxmacug@yahoogroups.com.

[JonD]

I can't stress strongly enough: These people aren't Mac users. They're switcheurs.
You gotta start somewhere, right?

[MacBram]

Hey thanks for that. I am in Magdalen College, even though I live near Christ Church. It soulnds tricky- but I'll get there!!! Do they do tax exempt for non-Brits. Just in case you know off the top of your head!!! ThanksIt's not too tricky - go up the hill from Magdalen (left branch at the plane roundabout) and it's one left turn at the main traffic lights at the Headington shops; then right at the first or second gap between buildings to get to the staircase).

Yes, most retailers will have a VAT exemption form for foreigners. You fill it in there and they stamp it. I think you still pay the VAT, but claim it back at the airport.

As another poster said, you can get to the Regent Street Apple Store very easily. The Oxford Tube coaches leave Oxford every ten minutes. You can be at Marble Arch in 50 minutes. Walk 5 or six blocks straight up Oxford Street to Regent Street, and the Store is barely a block down on the right.

[ArizonaKid]

I think this is the #1 reason people don't switch; They think that the difficulties of windows are how computing is supposed to be, namely, complicated, expensive, and time consuming.

I have to fight tooth and nail at my company to use a mac because, and I quote my "IT Professional"; "Macs are too expensive, they get too many viruses, and they're too hard to network and support". Now, granted, this woman isn't bright and was "promoted" to network admin from some receptionist job at some point, but this is how most companies think.


I have to disagree. I really don't think it is that sophisticated of an issue. It comes down to software and deployment. The people on this board are quite intelligent, so I would expect they can concede Windows rules the software market.

I am the network admin, on the side, for a small business. Additionally, I am the purchasing manager, and as the purchasing manager it is not prudent for me to purchase any Macs. Windows 2003 SBS (small business server) is an excellent backend server. Remote access, VPN, and exchange server simply are amazing tools for collaboration and connectivity to peers. On SBS 2003 they are all included.

The computers I purchase must have Windows XP Pro, which is a must for our domain management. I have actually added a Mac to our active directory, and had Entourage running off Exchange, and I can tell you it was a big pain in the ass. HP Business Computers are excellent at providing a clean install of Windows XP Pro. I simply don't see a decent argument for an employee to have a Mac when all the programs they are required to run are on Windows. Additionally, I will not waste time or money purchasing additional licenses of XP Pro for Macs, and then have to install it. Since we are a construction company we are heavy into Timberline (SQL based estimating and accounting...amazing application), Access, Visio, Project, and AutoCAD. I have yet to find viable alternatives on the Mac that has full compatibility.

In your argument you mentioned iTunes. Well I have that for Windows. I find Picasa to be a better application than iLife, and I don’t use Garage Band or iMovie.

Of course for home use there are plenty of software choices that are arguably the best in their class, such as iLife. However, those specific applications are not significant value added tools for our business.

The truth is I own a Mac at home for simple entertainment. It’s fun to use a different platform from time to time. However, Ubuntu and OS X are still entertainment OSs for me and not much more.

However, when money is on the line I would never choose a Mac in our business. They simply don’t have a competitive advantage and are not able to offer any software that would make our business more efficient. Now I could argue that software developers can be blamed for not offering Mac versions of critical applications, but I really don’t care.

[Cygnus311]

How do 13 people consider this a negative?

[ljova.com]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)


According to their Office of Information Technology, 45% of computers purchased this year were Macs. While this statistic only represents on-campus sales, it does represent a significant trend of the past 3 years. In 2003, only 15% of computers sold were Macs, with steady increases to 25% and 38% in 2004 and 2005.


Awesome! Many of my Princeton friends are Mac-based. I wonder, though, for every Mac sold on campus, how many Dells are sold via the internet on or before the student gets to school.

--Ljova
(G4 TiBook 1GHZ - waiting for the Meroms!)

[cecildk9999]

I think that just like the iPod became the 'in' fashion standard for mp3 players, Apple laptops could become the must have college 'accessory.' Apple has been so successful marketing the iPod experience that many people buy it because they equate iPod with cool. And Apple laptops have a form factor that makes them sleek and even sexy next to many bulkier PC laptops (and even a thinner design like IBMs ThinkPad, or whatever it's called, just doesn't make you want to use it in the same way).

I have a MacBook Pro, and 5 or 6 people in my education program have said that they have got to get one now that they have seen it. All the little touches, like the camera, some of the included software, and the streamlined look were very appealing to those who saw it (the backlit keyboard was a big deal, too). If you're going mobile, the computer becomes no more of an accessory (for the average user), than an iPod.

I've been a solid Mac user for four years, and have never seen the amount of Apple laptops around a campus as I do now. I think that the iPod did a lot to reinvigorate interest in Apple, and the design of Apple laptops will help expand their market further.

[SPUY767]

Say what!? PC users enjoy self-flagellation. :D


Self Fellation!? Ooohhhh, spicy indeed.

[stephenmckeague]

Muh? (http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/2006/ARWU2006_Top100.htm)

Lol either read the rankings by a random Chinese University, or go here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times_Higher_Education_Supplement)
for the INFINITELY more widely respected Times league tables. :p

The American uni's will naturally only show you whichever source puts them higher up the world rankings, regardless of how legitimate it is. See here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_Ranking_of_World_Universities) for why its grading system is frankly useless.

"crediting the universities where prize-winners studied (some as far back as the late 18th century)"
LOL :D

[Applespider]

I work for UCSD's Resnet department and I have also noticed a sharp incline of mac users this year. A little under half the support calls/appointments I get now are for macs (which says something about their ability to "just work").

Or perhaps that the majority of 'instructions' for how to connect to other systems/networks are written for Windows so they need translating?

My cousin once called me because she was desperately trying to follow some IT-sent instructions for how to get her Mac on the network. Unfortunately they were for Windows so she was having little success... even more sadly, the Mac was pretty much there and just needed the password entered. She'd wasted an hour attempting to do the configuration that her Mac had already automatically done for her...

[blackcrayon]

However, when money is on the line I would never choose a Mac in our business. They simply don’t have a competitive advantage and are not able to offer any software that would make our business more efficient. Now I could argue that software developers can be blamed for not offering Mac versions of critical applications, but I really don’t care.

What do Mac users do when the Windows Virus of the Month strikes the office?

They keep working...

[swmooretiger]

My point exactly. Square institutions like Princeton and Yale are well known for, well, being square. It's no surprise a distinct minority of students there are Mac users (even if some of the rest are switcheurs). Take a walk around an Ivy League school with a student population in command of a more comprehensive understanding of aesthetics--Harvard, Brown, or especially Columbia with its boho-beat appeal--and you can't help but notice the difference. Students at these schools, unlike those at Princeton, are natural-born Mac users.

That, in short, is why it's wrong to paint all Ivy Leaguers with the same broad brush. You're not a bigot, are you?

I'm surprised you had so much time to attend every Ivy university in your 4 years as an undergrad, that's impressive. I guess you also know the ins and outs of every club, group, team, dorm, and department at Princeton as well. That really is impressive, I didn't get close to that in my 4 years there in engineering.

Having attended an institution that is so impressive (harvard, columbia??), as you undoubtably have, you should have been able to pick up on the fact that the 45% was not the university wide "market share" of Apple. It only refers to this years sales by OIT. Sure that's been on the rise, but many students purchase computers outside of OIT, as they prefer more custimization. OIT is a great part of the University btw, and they are very platform nuetral (I worked there for 2-3 years).

Anyways, I hope "mac users" such as yourself are on the decline. I'd prefer to see stuck up, snotty, bigoted, prejudice @$$holes such as yourself be drowned out by the masses of "Switcheurs" as you call them. At least they enjoy their macs instead of putting down people for their choice of University or their lack of "purity" as a mac user.

[ArizonaKid]

What do Mac users do when the Windows Virus of the Month strikes the office?

They keep working...

True. You have a very good point I don't argue against. Windows takes much more maintenance. However, the security for a small business is not that hard to control for admins. Antivirus applications combined with strict security policies are very effective. Clients don't have admin rights, and that helps prevent dangerous applications from being installed.

But going to the Mac simply to lower the threat of viruses is still not the most efficient choice in our business. That is my point, and a point most business use in making purchasing decisions. They cost savings of a better secuered OS (OS X) is not worth losing some core applications.

[PruneTracy]

i would RATHER row for Dartmouth than be caught dead any where near the rusted gates of Princeton, myes... As a resident student at the fine university of San Francisco State, I must say that the idea of Princeton getting good publicity is highly dubious... indubitably...
seriously people, does it matter where we go to school? does it say anything about us? well, yes, it does i suppose, but anyone so self centered or insecure that they need to project their own self worth off of that where they study is a very unfortunate person...
sorry for the rant, g5 powerbooks and iphones tuesday.
GO GATERS!

[Mooganic]

LOL @ Princeton - A mere 10th in world university rankings. Far from the impressive 9th of Imperial College :D


ICL? 23rd.

http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/2006/ARWU2006_Top100.htm

;)

[appleguru1]

In my triple here at colorado college... we have 3 macs and no pcs ;)

Granted my room is a bit of an anomaly, but.. still.. there's a lot of macs around ;) (We have 2 macbooks (1 black, 1 white), and my iBook g4)

And.. if apple would hurry up and update the MBPs.. We'd have one of those too :D

[ddekker]

cool info, sure would be interesting how many are running bootcamp and or parallels.... i'm going with 75% + .... switching is not all that easy... okay at least for me...

DD

[bryanc]

Both on campus and off, I've seen a massive increase in macs in my field (biology) over the past 5 years.

At an international conference I've been attending for decades, last year I saw only one PC... all of the rest of the presenters were using macs. A few years previously, the opposite was true.

I was talking to the computer guy at the campus bookstore the other day, and he said that now well over half of their sales are macs.

I think the tide has turned.

Now if only Apple could get the C2D MBPs out to take advantage of it!

Cheers

[APPLENEWBIE]

As a parent of a college freshman, after having dealt with Windows computers for many years, I can't imagine sending the kid off to school with a Windows machine. So far, not one problem with his macbook, not one virus, not one problem with spyware. Not one problem with theft! ( I locked it to his desk and won't tell him the combination....) ( he did come home the other day asking where my skill saw was, however,.... Hmmmmmm.....)

[appleguru1]

As a parent of a college freshman, after having dealt with Windows computers for many years, I can't imagine sending the kid off to school with a Windows machine. So far, not one problem with his macbook, not one virus, not one problem with spyware. Not one problem with theft! ( I locked it to his desk and won't tell him the combination....) ( he did come home the other day asking where my skill saw was, however,.... Hmmmmmm.....)

Now locking the computer to his desk and not telling him the combo seems a bit ridiculous.. you may as well have bought him an imac and gotten a faster processor, bigger screen, and paid less...

[ricebag]

For what it's worth, I know at Indiana U and Oberlin, they really push Macs because (at least they say) support needs for them are much lower.
I'm not surprised - a couple of times while I was at a small liberal arts college viruses essentially took down the whole campus network. Even though most people were up-to-date and secure, it just takes a couple of unpatched [Windows] systems...

[ziwi]

This is good news. I had the Apple IIe and when I went to school they were a Mac Shop - so It makes life better on the virtual campus ;)

[Lollypop]

I have to disagree. I really don't think it is that sophisticated of an issue. It comes down to software and deployment. The people on this board are quite intelligent, so I would expect they can concede Windows rules the software market.

I am the network admin, on the side, for a small business. Additionally, I am the purchasing manager, and as the purchasing manager it is not prudent for me to purchase any Macs. Windows 2003 SBS (small business server) is an excellent backend server. Remote access, VPN, and exchange server simply are amazing tools for collaboration and connectivity to peers. On SBS 2003 they are all included.

The computers I purchase must have Windows XP Pro, which is a must for our domain management. I have actually added a Mac to our active directory, and had Entourage running off Exchange, and I can tell you it was a big pain in the ass. HP Business Computers are excellent at providing a clean install of Windows XP Pro. I simply don't see a decent argument for an employee to have a Mac when all the programs they are required to run are on Windows. Additionally, I will not waste time or money purchasing additional licenses of XP Pro for Macs, and then have to install it. Since we are a construction company we are heavy into Timberline (SQL based estimating and accounting...amazing application), Access, Visio, Project, and AutoCAD. I have yet to find viable alternatives on the Mac that has full compatibility.

In your argument you mentioned iTunes. Well I have that for Windows. I find Picasa to be a better application than iLife, and I don’t use Garage Band or iMovie.

Of course for home use there are plenty of software choices that are arguably the best in their class, such as iLife. However, those specific applications are not significant value added tools for our business.

The truth is I own a Mac at home for simple entertainment. It’s fun to use a different platform from time to time. However, Ubuntu and OS X are still entertainment OSs for me and not much more.

However, when money is on the line I would never choose a Mac in our business. They simply don’t have a competitive advantage and are not able to offer any software that would make our business more efficient. Now I could argue that software developers can be blamed for not offering Mac versions of critical applications, but I really don’t care.

While I really dont like what you say Im afraid I completely agree, apple has done a great job of challenging windows in the home market, and it seems also the edu market, but the corporate market, apple has a long long way to go!

[stephenmckeague]

ICL? 23rd.

http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/rank/2006/ARWU2006_Top100.htm

;)

*sigh* Read post 75 tool :rolleyes:

[lmalave]

While I really dont like what you say Im afraid I completely agree, apple has done a great job of challenging windows in the home market, and it seems also the edu market, but the corporate market, apple has a long long way to go!

I think Apple would be all too happy to just own the home and edu markets. If they get back up to 30% of the edu market and can match that in the home market, I think they'd be ecstatic, since their total market share would probably more than double to 10% or more of the overall market.

[kingtj]

Your company's I.T. "professional" is obviously not keeping up with things, but that's all too common in the industry, unfortunately.

Still, I'd say that honestly, there are far more businesses out there staffed by I.T. people who do know what they're doing. Despite being a Mac user at home, I support a Windows PC network where I work. At this point in time, a switch to Macs really isn't feasible. It's not that we couldn't use newer Macs here. (Well, we couldn't before Intel Macs came out, because we rely on several proprietary software packages that are made for Windows only.) But reality is, Apple isn't really ready for "corporate America". They're inching ever closer to being there, but it's just not a market-segment they've concentrated on in the past.

It's easy for a Mac user to get "smug" about things, and say "Look how much easier I can do this!" with a task. But in the corporate world, there's usually more to it. They may be under an expensive service contract with an existing software package, so switching means flushing tens of thousands of dollars down the toilet for that pre-paid support plan. They often need to be able to make use of proprietary hardware or interfaces that just can't attach to a Mac. (Quite a few industrial controllers have been designed to plug into PCI or ISA slots on a PC, and they don't make a USB version!)

There's also a lot of interest in the ability to easily service one's own equipment, at least in smaller companies. Many I.T. departments like the generic, standard components found in most Windows PCs. If a power supply goes out, no problem. Grab any ATX supply from the shelf at CompUSA and drop it in. Back in business. Need a video card? They're sold everywhere. On a Mac, you're stuck waiting on a part from Apple themselves - and paying a premium for it.


I think this is the #1 reason people don't switch; They think that the difficulties of windows are how computing is supposed to be, namely, complicated, expensive, and time consuming.

I have to fight tooth and nail at my company to use a mac because, and I quote my "IT Professional"; "Macs are too expensive, they get too many viruses, and they're too hard to network and support". Now, granted, this woman isn't bright and was "promoted" to network admin from some receptionist job at some point, but this is how most companies think.

When she sits down at my mac to "fix it" (break something), she spends minutes looking for the complicated way of doing something instead of checking a box or pushing a button. The Principals of my company are the same. I'll do presentations in Keynote or make marketing movies or DVD's that the rest of the company loves, but since it's not supported on windows, the initiatives go nowhere. It's a mixture of ignorance and IT weasels looking to hold on to their jobs. If we had macs at work, she'd be out of a job and she knows it.

I hope Princeton's policies are platform agnostic, otherwise all the new mac users could find themselves in a difficult situation.

[goforaride]

Having been a CIT (prior to OIT) support staffperson at Princeton, I felt that the upper administration seemed to be focused on Windows (could it have been the academic-relationship with W. Gates, by its former VP of IT) and turned a cool shoulder toward the Mac.
Even colleagues there now, in systems, have a Mac Mini to be familiar with (however, they still use Windows and Unix ... but they need to. Adding or returning to the mac makes sense for students. It's just easier to use/configure).
Just remember that this requires the need for broader support. And for this, they (university comptrollers) need to start "allocating" funds to the right places.
Afterall, what good is a campus, that is now winning back mac-using students, but lacks the financial direction toward keeping "up with other campuses" by allocating value to those departments that assist the students, staff and administrators.
I applaud this news. Go Tigers!:)

[vand0576]

I'm currently in college. I just made the switch, and instead of saving the $2700 I spent on my iMac for tuition, I decided I would be happier with a computer that works. :)

[janstett]

Bravo.

Exactly, it is just a brand of computer... a tool if you will. Not a bloody religion which changes your whole mindset and world view to the point that you are prepared to strap bombs to your chest to "defend" it.

New to Macs, I take it ;)